Ahead of the Bell: Family Dollar

A warning sign flashes for motorists on the expressway into Boston as snow starts to fall on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. A major winter storm is heading toward the U.S. Northeast with up to 2 feet of snow expected for a Boston-area region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

A pedestrian walks through the snow in Washington Park on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. Parts of the New York region still cleaning up from Superstorm Sandy are bracing for a winter storm that's expected to blanket the Northeast with heavy snow Friday and Saturday. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Two flights to Boston are listed as canceled at Philadelphia International Airport, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Philadelphia. Airlines have already canceled more than 2,700 Friday flights as they get ready for a storm that threatens to dump up to 3 feet of snow from New York City to Boston. Flight-tracking website FlightAware shows 728 cancellations at the three big airports in the New York area. Another 191 flights to or from Boston have been scrubbed, and 137 in Toronto. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2012 file photo, sea water floods the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York during Superstorm Sandy. A commission formed to examine ways to guard against storms like Sandy released a report Friday that calls for flood walls in subways, water pumps at airports and sea barriers along the coast. The final report was first obtained Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013 by The Associated Press. The findings were officially released Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, by the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who formed the commission. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2012, file photo, James Dresch of MND Partners Inc. works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Wall Street also appeared headed for gains on the open Wednesday Nov. 14, 2012 as renewed efforts got under way in Washington to resolve the impending "fiscal cliff." (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)

Utility workers the the power lines as snow covered debris from Superstorm Sandy lay on the side of a street following a nor'easter storm, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012, in Point Pleasant, N.J. The New York-New Jersey region woke up to wet snow and more power outages Thursday after the nor'easter pushed back efforts to recover from Superstorm Sandy, that left millions powerless and dozens dead last week. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes a point a news conference in New York, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012. Gov. Cuomo said damage in New York state from Superstorm Sandy could total $33 billion when all is said and done, as the state began cleaning up from a nor'easter that dumped snow, brought down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of new customers in darkness. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Vincent and Jeanmarie Pina watch as a power truck from Burbank, Calif. passes their still darkened home on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012 in Farmingdale, N.Y. The couple said they have remained in their home for 11 days waiting for their lights to come back on.(AP Photo/Frank Eltman)

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NEW YORK (AP) — A Citi analyst on Friday cut her rating for Family Dollar to "Neutral" from "Buy," saying it's going to be increasingly tough for the company to post better-than-expected profits, especially in the second half of this year.

Deborah Weinswig, who also cut her price target by $4 to $65, said Family Dollar will experience increased profitability pressure in the second half of fiscal 2013, along with continued weak discretionary spending.

Weinswig added that the company's single store format could put it at a disadvantage compared with Dollar General Corp., which offers a variety of store formats. As a result of those factors combined, it will be increasingly harder for the company to top Wall Street expectations, she said.

The analyst added that she continues to like the dollar store sector overall and Family Dollar's efforts to expand its sales of consumables, such as groceries.